Can tourists meet onsen geisha nowadays?

Question

Japan's most famous geisha are from Kyoto, Japan's former capital and still a major cultural capital of Japan. But I've also heard of onsen geisha, far away from the big cities, who are at the bottom of the pecking order of geisha.

Do such geisha still exist nowadays? Geisha have become much smaller in number over time, and I'm wondering if onsen geisha were the first to disappear. Is it possible to see, or better yet socialize, with onsen geisha nowadays?

Are most geisha who perform in onsen towns necessarily "onsen geisha"? When searching for onsen geisha, I often got hits for "[location] onsen geisha", such as One of Nagano’s “Treasures” — The Togura Kamiyamada Onsen Geisha.

How do onsen geisha differ from their big city counterparts? I assume that they are less expensive, but apart from that, do they tend to have a different persona? Are the geisha games available different?

Answer 1

"Onsen Geisha" is rather a locality issue than a "what do they do" issue. Towns that are famous for onsen have sometimes stage shows in hotels that anyone who visits can see.

Example: http://www.atami-furuya.co.jp/geisha/

You can however just as well have a private performance such as in this place:

http://www.horita-spa.com/party.html

If you want to have a private performance however, there is a risk that they do not let you in as a foreigner, unless you have local people to come with you. Japanese are often afraid that they do not speak English well enough, and if you get drunk and cause trouble, they cannot handle it.

Answer 2

I've been told that onsen geisha still exist on the web site Immortal Geisha.

Another place to see onsen geisha is Higashiyama onsen, which is in Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima province. (Thanks Immortal Geisha user Hisayakko)

http://www.aizu-higashiyama.com/geigi/geigi.html (in Japanese) talks about geisha and mentions the fee for booking a geisha there, so "ichigensan okotowari" (first timers not allowed) isn't a problem.